Friday, November 27, 2009Three-point stance: All eyes on Texas
By Ivan Maisel

1. Texas won the battle Thursday night, 49-39 at Texas A&M, and now we wait to see if the Longhorns win the war. I think Texas will get credit for winning on the road against an in-state rival. But I think Texas A&M’s five touchdowns, 190 rushing yards and 532 total yards will cost Texas in the BCS beauty pageant. You have to assume that every poll voter -- the pageant judges -- watched this one. That kind of win will cost a team with a schedule as weak as the Longhorns’.

2. If nothing else, Texas’s performance Thursday night should serve as a cautionary tale to Alabama and Florida, both of which also play a mediocre in-state rival with an explosive offense and a shaky defense. It’s been difficult to separate the Gators, the Crimson Tide and the Longhorns all season. Since they’re playing similar opponents, we may get a more accurate measure of which team is the best in the nation.

3. It could be that Colorado decided to keep Dan Hawkins for a fifth season because the university doesn’t have the money to pay him what it owes him and his staff and hire a new coach and his staff. Or it could be that athletic director Mike Bohn refused to make a knee-jerk decision and wants to give Hawkins every opportunity to succeed. I hope it’s the latter, and that the win-now-if-not-sooner mentality will lose its momentum. But I fear it’s the former.